Derailleur cable router with a cable housing support that pivots in multiple directions

ABSTRACT

A derailleur cable router is provided for changing the direction of a derailleur cable having a cable housing surrounding at least a portion of the derailleur cable. The derailleur cable router includes a base member, a pulley mounted on the base member for rotation around a pulley axis, and a housing support movably supported on the base member. The housing support pivots relative to the pulley around a first axis and a second axis, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/259,152, filedFeb. 26, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,905.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to control devices for bicycletransmissions and, more particularly, to a bicycle derailleur thatincludes a derailleur cable router for changing the direction of aderailleur cable.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,334 discloses one type of derailleur cable routerfor changing the direction of a derailleur cable having a cable housingsurrounding at least a portion of the derailleur cable. In thederailleur cable router disclosed in that patent, a pulley is mounted toa frame for rotation around a pulley axis. The frame includes a firstleg extending radially from the pulley axis for supporting the cablehousing and a second leg extending radially from the pulley axis forsupporting a derailleur interface member. The derailleur interfacemember slidingly and detachably engages a cable feed formed on the basemember of the derailleur at the rear of the derailleur so that the cablerouter can deflect in response to external forces.

Because the derailleur cable router is an add-on part coupled to therear of the derailleur, the derailleur cable router forms a relativelylarge appendage which increases the bulk of the derailleur and alsocreates more surface area that can be subjected to undesirable externalforces. Also, since the derailleur cable router is detachably coupled tothe derailleur, there is a risk that the derailleur cable router canbecome dislocated from the derailleur when a sudden force is applied tothe pulley or frame. Such dislocation also could occur as a result ofrotation of the derailleur during operation of the derailleur.

Thus, it is desirable to make a derailleur cable router that is morecompact to minimize the surface area that could be subjected toundesirable external forces. It is also desirable to make a derailleurcable router that can accommodate lateral deflection caused by externalforces applied to the cable router as well as deflection caused byrotation of the derailleur during operation of the derailleur, allwithout dislocating from the derailleur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a derailleur cable guide routerwhich is very compact and which accommodates lateral deflection causedby external forces applied to the cable router as well as deflectioncaused by rotation of the derailleur during operation of the derailleur,all without dislocating from the derailleur. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, a derailleur cable router is provided for changingthe direction of a derailleur cable having a cable housing surroundingat least a portion of the derailleur cable. The derailleur cable routerincludes a base member, a pulley mounted on the base member for rotationaround a pulley axis, and a housing support movably supported on thebase member. The housing support pivots relative to the pulley around afirst axis and a second axis, wherein the first axis is different fromthe second axis.

In a more specific embodiment, the first axis extends in a directionsubstantially parallel to the pulley axis, and the second axis extendsin a direction substantially perpendicular to the pulley axis. Thus,rotation of the housing support around the first axis accommodatesdeflection caused by rotation of the derailleur during operation of thederailleur, and rotation of the housing support around the second axisaccommodates lateral deflection caused by external forces applied to thecable router.

If the base member of the derailleur cable router also functions as thebase member for the derailleur, then the resulting structure is verycompact and does not form a large appendage to the derailleur. In thatcase the pivoting housing support is all that is necessary toaccommodate deflection caused by rotation of the derailleur duringoperation of the derailleur and lateral deflection caused by externalforces applied to the cable router.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a particular embodiment of a derailleurincorporating a derailleur cable router according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the derailleur cable routershown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows how a housing coupling member is assembled to a basecoupling member; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment ofa housing coupling member and base coupling member according to thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a particular embodiment of a derailleur 10incorporating a derailleur cable router 14 according to the presentinvention. Derailleur 10 includes a base member 16 that also functionsas a base member for derailleur cable router 14; a movable member 20supporting a typical chain guide 24 having a guide pulley 28 and atension pulley 32; and coupling members in the form of links 34 and 38for coupling movable member 20 to base member 16. Movable member 20moves relative to base member 16 in a known manner in response topulling and releasing a derailleur cable 40 attached to a clamp 44 fixedto link 34. Derailleur cable 40 is part of an overall derailleur controlcable 50 of the Bowden type wherein a cable housing 54 surrounds atleast a portion of the derailleur cable 40.

As mentioned above, base member 16 of derailleur 10 also functions as abase member for derailleur cable router 14. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,base member 16 includes opposed link coupling members 60 and 64 withlink coupling openings 68, 70, 72 and 74 for receiving link couplingpins 78 and 80 that couple links 34 and 38 to base member 16. A cablefeed 84 defining a cable channel 88 is integrally formed as one-piecewith base member 16 for receiving derailleur cable 40 therethrough andfor guiding cable 40 to clamp 44. Base member 16 also includes anopening 92 for receiving a derailleur mounting bolt 96 therethrough,wherein derailleur mounting bolt 96 has a tool-receiving head 97 and athreaded end 98 for mounting derailleur 10 to the bicycle frame (notshown) so that base member 16 rotates around derailleur mounting bolt96. A spring (not shown) preferably is mounted within opening 92 aroundderailleur mounting bolt 96 in a well-known manner, such as that shownin U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,663, incorporated herein by reference, forbiasing base member 16 in a clockwise direction to help position guidepulley 28 in the proper position relative to the sprockets (not shown)mounted to the rear wheel of the bicycle (not shown). A similar spring(not shown) is mounted within movable member 20 for biasing chain guide24 in the clockwise direction in a well-known manner.

A threaded opening 100 is formed in derailleur mounting bolt 96 forthreadingly engaging a pulley mounting bolt 104. Pulley mounting bolt104 mounts a pulley 108 with a cable entraining groove 111 to basemember 16 so that pulley 108 rotates around a pulley axis X that isconcentric with derailleur mounting bolt 96 and opening 92. A suitablebearing (not shown) may be used to facilitate rotation of pulley 108around pulley mounting bolt 104, if desired. As shown in FIG. 1, pulley108 is exposed, but a housing could be formed around pulley 108 toprotect pulley 108 from dirt, water and other contaminants, if desired.

A housing support 109 comprising a base coupling member 118, a housingcoupling member 148 and a tension adjusting barrel 160 is provided forsupporting cable housing 54 relative to pulley 108 and for guidingderailleur cable 40 to cable entraining groove 111 on pulley 108. Morespecifically, a pair of spaced-apart and opposed coupling flanges 110and 114 are formed as one piece with and extend from base member 16 forpivotably mounting base coupling member 118 to base member 16 through apivot pin 120. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, base coupling member 118includes a base member coupling collar 124 which receives pivot pin 120therethrough, a bottom wall 125 having a cable channel 126, and a pairof spaced-apart and opposed coupling flanges 128 and 132 with couplingopenings 136 and 140. Housing coupling member 148 includes a cablechannel 150 and coupling stubs 152 and 156 that extend into couplingopenings 136 and 140 in coupling flanges 128 and 132, respectively, ofbase coupling member 118. Tension adjusting barrel 160 threadinglyengages housing coupling member 148 at a threaded coupling 164 foradjusting the tension of derailleur cable 40 in a conventional manner.Tension adjusting barrel 160 includes a cable channel 168 for receivingderailleur cable 40 therethrough and a cable housing receiving opening172 for receiving an end of cable housing 54 therein. A spring 173 isdisposed between tension adjusting barrel 160 and housing couplingmember 148 to provide friction between the two members and therebyprevent inadvertent rotation of tension adjusting barrel 160.

In this embodiment, cable channel 150 in housing coupling member 150extends along an axis S (FIG. 1) that is substantially tangent to cableentraining groove 111 on pulley 108, and cable channel 88 in cable feed84 extends along an axis T that is tangent to cable retaining groove 111on pulley 108 and is oriented substantially perpendicular to pulley axisX. Thus, cable 40 makes a smooth transition as it proceeds from housingsupport 109, around cable entraining groove 111 and through cable feed84.

FIG. 3 shows how housing coupling member 148 is attached to basecoupling member 118. Base coupling member 118 is manufactured withcoupling flange 132 inclined relative to coupling flange 128 as shown.Initially, coupling stub 152 is placed within coupling opening 136.Thereafter, coupling flange 132 is bent counterclockwise until couplingstub 156 is fitted within coupling opening 140. As a result, housingsupport 109 pivots around an axis Y that is coaxial with pivot pin 120,and housing support 109 also pivots around an axis Z that is coaxialwith coupling stubs 152 and 156. From inspection it can be seen thataxis Z extends in a direction substantially parallel to the pulley axisX, and axis Y extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to thepulley axis X. Thus, housing support 109 can deflect laterally bypivoting around axis Y in response to a lateral force, and housingsupport 109 can deflect around axis Z to accommodate rotation ofderailleur 10 during operation. Since derailleur cable router 14 isformed with the derailleur base member 16, it is very compact. Also, thecoupling between base coupling member 118 and base member 16 and thecoupling between housing coupling member 148 and base coupling member118 prevent dislocation of the housing support 109.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment ofa base coupling member 118′ and a housing coupling member 144′ accordingto the present invention. The remaining parts of the derailleur cablerouter remain the same. In this embodiment, base coupling member 118′has larger coupling openings 136′ and 140′ for receiving a couplingrivet 180 therethrough. Instead of the coupling stubs shown in FIGS. 2and 3, housing coupling member 148′ has coupling openings 184 and 188for receiving coupling rivet 180 therethrough. In this embodiment thereis no need to bend coupling flange 132′ of base coupling member 118′during assembly. Instead, housing coupling member 148′ is removablyfitted between coupling flanges 128′ and 132′ and is pivotably supportedby coupling rivet 180 for rotation around an axis Z′ that issubstantially parallel to the pulley axis X. A coil spring 190 has afirst end 194 abutting against a spring stop 198 on base member 16 and asecond end 202 abutting against base coupling member 118′ for biasingbase coupling member counterclockwise in FIG. 4. Of course, such abiasing spring also could be used in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3.

While the above is a description of various embodiments of the presentinvention, further modifications may be employed without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the size,shape, location or orientation of the various components may be changedas desired. The functions of one element may be performed by two, andvice versa. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in aparticular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is uniquefrom the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, alsoshould be considered a separate description of further inventions by theapplicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodiedby such feature(s). Thus, the scope of the invention should not belimited by the specific structures disclosed or the apparent initialfocus on a particular structure or feature.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bicycle derailleur for use with a derailleurcable having a cable housing surrounding at least a portion of thederailleur cable, wherein the derailleur comprises: a base memberincluding a structure defining a threaded opening for mounting aderailleur cable router thereto, wherein the threaded opening isconcentric with a mounting axis defined by a member that attaches thederailleur to a bicycle frame; a movable member supporting a chainguide; and a coupling member for coupling the movable member to the basemember so that the movable member moves relative to the base member. 2.The derailleur according to claim 1 wherein the base member includes amounting opening for mounting the derailleur to a bicycle frame, whereinthe mounting opening is concentric with the mounting axis.
 3. Thederailleur according to claim 2 further comprising a mounting boltextending through the mounting opening, and wherein the threaded openingis disposed in the mounting bolt.
 4. A bicycle derailleur for use with aderailleur cable having a cable housing surrounding at least a portionof the derailleur cable, wherein the derailleur comprises: a base memberhaving a mounting opening for mounting the derailleur to a bicycleframe, wherein the mounting opening defines a mounting axis; a pulleymounted on the base member for rotation around a pulley axis, whereinthe pulley axis is concentric with the mounting axis; a movable membersupporting a chain guide; and a coupling member for coupling the movablemember to the base member so that the movable member moves relative tothe base member.
 5. The derailleur according to claim 4 furthercomprising a derailleur mounting bolt extending through the mountingopening for mounting the derailleur to the bicycle frame.
 6. Thederailleur according to claim 5 wherein the base member is rotatablysupported by the derailleur mounting bolt.
 7. The derailleur accordingto claim 6 further comprising a pulley mounting bolt rotatably mountingthe pulley to the derailleur mounting bolt.
 8. The derailleur accordingto claim 7 wherein the derailleur mounting bolt includes a threadedopening concentric with the mounting axis, and wherein the pulleymounting bolt is screwed into the threaded opening.